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Ian Anderson

Articles by Ian Anderson

San Diego Reader food critic checks self with ChatGPT

As a food writer, I’ve long thought my job was safe from the impending robot takeover. Modern-day robots may enjoy such activities as performing music, skateboarding, and playing board games, and it’s particularly vexing to ...

March 22, 2023
The Food Box brings burgers from across the border

“Hamburguesas de verdad,” reads the green neon sign behind the counter of The Food Box: “real hamburgers.” Not a lot of American restaurants would make so bold a declaration in Spanish, but here in San ...

It’s not pizza, but FurnSaj makes the city’s most photogenic flatbread

You’ll need to be familiar with at least two types of Mediterranean cooking appliances to understand what’s happening at FurnSaj Bakery & Restaurant. A furn may be thought of as similar to a clay pizza ...

Iris Delights and the art of beautiful chocolate

A Valentine’s Day line formed almost the minute the shop opened for business. Probably, most people who wanted to mark the occasion with a box of chocolates had bought one days ago. Those of us ...

Lia’s Lumpia wraps up a world of food favorites

Finally, I caught up to Lia’s Lumpia. As a food truck, it’s repeatedly eluded me: starting service after I’d left a food truck park, or ending service before I showed up at a brewery where ...

A banana split and a tower leaning at The Yogurt Mill

“But have you been to The Yogurt Mill?” My wife noticed that I’ve recently spent more time writing about food in her hometown, El Cajon. However, as I’ve mainly focused on skewered and rotisserie meats, ...

Guitarist Rob Logic transforms the neighborhood

Spring Valley is the new North Park About three months ago, the bar donned a large sign reading “The Bancroft” next to Fannie’s old marquee, which now entreats — perhaps tongue-in-cheek — “I assure you ...

February 6, 2023
Sultan Baklava brings its kebob back to El Cajon

It’s no secret that our region’s best Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food is most often found in El Cajon. Though, for a while, some of it was found in the Gaslamp. For a few years, ...

Nirwana Indian Gastrobar showcases tacos, sliders, and pizza

This menu can’t be pinned down. I see both pasta and chow mein, kabobs and wings, tacos and “artisan pizza.” But mostly, there’s Indian food. A drink at the bar might shed some light on ...

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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